Regional Drivers vs Track Regulars (locals)

[Giterdunn]

Ok 4M Nation. I have a technical question that I would like to get your "educated" thoughts on.

A regional series rolled into one of my local tracks recently and held an event that brought in about 25 SLMs (20 regional and 5 regulars to the track). What are the regional guys doing that the regulars are not that allow them to dominate so badly (no regular in the top 14)?

I realize that the regional guys have a $ advantage.. So what are they buying / doing that is making them soooo much more dominate than the regulars? Tire, HP, setups, etc..?? Keep in mind the locals are running updated chassis and name brand engines...

I would appreciate some good insight..

[Josh Bayko]

Regional drivers tend to have more seat time overall than locals, and seat time might be the most important aspect of racing.

[zach51]

JB is right. And not only seat time for driving practice, but seat time in knowing how your a$$ feels in the seat and what quick changes to make to feel it better. If you run a different track 2-3 times a week, you learn quick what feel you like and what changes work and what changes don't. If you run the same track all year, once a week, you may not know what you don't know. You figure "hey I outrun mutt and jeff and I've won 5 features this year, I ain't touching my car." And then the tour rolls into town and they take you to lunch.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Ok 4M Nation. I have a technical question that I would like to get your "educated" thoughts on.

A regional series rolled into one of my local tracks recently and held an event that brought in about 25 SLMs (20 regional and 5 regulars to the track). What are the regional guys doing that the regulars are not that allow them to dominate so badly (no regular in the top 14)?

I realize that the regional guys have a $ advantage.. So what are they buying / doing that is making them soooo much more dominate than the regulars? Tire, HP, setups, etc..?? Keep in mind the locals are running updated chassis and name brand engines...

I would appreciate some good insight..

HP starts you up front, but it doesn't win dirt races. Tire work is easy to find out. Walk around the lineup chute. Some of it is seat time, as Bayko suggested. The setup situation is a very fluid one right now as there are things that people are still learning that few people understood 2 years ago. This has changed the shock game and other parts of the car and continues to do so. The regional guys are tighter with the car builders and get info faster.

[Bubstr]

Time in the seat is real important and who you spend that time with, is more important. You want to beat the best, you have to run with the best.

If you was a racer, you would notice that Fri. night track is nothing like last Fri. night. That is because of the set ups, tires and the way they run the track. It is no longer your Fri. night track, it's one of their regular stops. The thing is, if you don't race with them, you will never get that good. There is 100 degrees of gas pedal, you need to use each. That is the second rule o dirt racing. The first rule is corner speed is king. Third rule is never step on the brake in the corner, you can drag it a bit but don't step on it. Forth rule is never hit anyone intentionally, or they return the favor. Fifth rule is, more races are lost by trying too hard.

[MI Dirt Fan]

I know some guys use certain points of the track to let off the throttle going into the corner. Whether it be a light pole or infield tire or barrier. Didn't matter if they were leading or not. They always hit that mark. I know a guy that did and he was 10th with about 15 laps left. Ended up winning. Took advantage of guys over driving.

[PRCKartRacer9]

Race the track